Beard announces appointment to newly created role of Head of People and Communications

Construction firm Beard has appointed Melissa Barber to the newly created role of Head of People and Communications.

The position will bring together employee and customer experiences and provide a connection with the vision and values of the company, which operates across the south of England with offices in Swindon, Guildford, Oxford and Bristol.

Beard deputy chairman Neil Sherreard said: “This new role has been created to help us take the business forward under our ambition to be better tomorrow than we are today.

“As well as leading our marketing operations with responsibility for promoting the brand, Melissa will be taking the lead on developing and leading our people strategy and culture work to ensure that we can continue to attract and retain the best people.”

A professionally qualified marketer with over 15 years’ experience in the construction and housing sectors, Melissa takes on the role after working for two years as head of communications at Beard. She is also a board member at Elim Housing Association, which owns and manages around 800 homes in the southwest of England and south Wales.

She said: “Beard recognises the importance of people, be that internally or externally. The creation of the new role of Head of People and Communications underlines this focus, and brings together and leads on the employee lifecycle and the customer journey.

“The aim is to drive and embed the organisation’s vision and values to reinforce and to build brand awareness internally and externally.

“I’ll also be focusing upon company culture and wellbeing, which has always been of importance within Beard but has gained further significance as a result of the pandemic.”

Beard was established in 1892, and undertakes design and build, new build, restoration and refurbishment on a range of projects.